The Storyteller
by DoubleTrouble28513
Summary: Maggie, an orphan, has a strange and wonderful gift. Some say she has a wonderful gift of storytelling, but no one really knows how magical it is...except for a famous Mouse who needs her help in saving the worlds of Disney! *RE-DONE! PLEASE RE-READ!*
1. Believe

**A/N: Maggie, an orphan, has a strange and wonderful gift. Some say she has a wonderful gift of storytelling, but no one really knows how magical it is...except for a famous Mouse who needs her help in saving the worlds of Disney!**

**This is just something I'm trying out...if you like it, I will add the rest of what I've written so far!!  
I do not own anything from Disney!!!**

**Now, sit back, relax...and enjoy The Storyteller! *hugs* **

* * *

Once Upon a Time, in a place far away...

That's how all fairytales begin. Always somewhere far away, taking place in a castle with talking animals or moving clocks or a cottage with friendly animals or tiny men. Sometimes, fairytales would take you oceans far away, or to lands you never dreamed possible; that with happy thoughts, you could fly higher than the clouds. Other times, however, they would take you to places that would remind you of your worst nightmare. You would have to fight villains, save the world somehow, and even find out that you can go the distance, if you truly believe in yourself.

However, our story is somewhere else...the place where it all begins.

* * *

Maggie turned for what seemed like the hundredth time in her bed, unable to sleep. Even with the soft snores from the other orphan girls, she was far too nervous to sleep. Not even one of her fairytales could keep her mind distracted from the fact that Adoption Day was the next day. She sat up quietly in her bed, and fixed her long, light brown hair in a ponytail. Even though her bed was the farthest from the only door in the twelve-bedded room, she loved the fact that her small twin bed was the closest to the large window, complete with a cushioned bench to sit on. Reaching past the side of her bed, she felt around the hardwood floor until she felt her homemade compartment she cut out three years ago on her tenth birthday. Tomorrow would make it her thirteenth birthday, not that it really mattered to her that she wasn't the eldest of the girls. When she found her compartment in the dark, she pried it open and felt around for a box of matches and a candle. Having successfully finding both, she placed them on her bed, and opened the matchbox.

"Last match." she grumbled to herself, making a mental note to steal more matchboxes and small candlesticks from the kitchen. With great ease, she struck the match against the box, causing the match to burst into life, and shared its light with the candlestick. Blowing out the match, she closed her compartment and tiptoed toward the window, candlestick guiding the way. She sat on the padded bench, and looked at the cloudy sky. "Come on," she whispered hopefully, "I know you're there."

Sure enough, as she said that, the clouds started to move, revealing a small opening and a brilliantly shining star. Seeing the star, she closed her eyes and recited the popular poem:

_Starlight, Star bright_

_ First star I see tonight_

_ I wish I may, I wish I might,_

_ Have the wish I wish tonight...._

Before she could make her wish, she heard a familiar yawn, followed by the creaking of the wooden floor. Without turning around, she made room for Stacy, the eldest of the girls, and Maggie's only friend.

"Can't sleep?" Stacy muttered, sitting next to Maggie and placing her head on Maggie's shoulder.

Maggie shook her head. "I'm scared for tomorrow. What if we--?"

Stacy placed her hand over her friend's mouth. "Shh!! Don't say it! Just keep thinking it won't happen...Sister Maria wouldn't allow it!"

Maggie smirked. "She wouldn't allow me to swipe candles and matches from the kitchen, but I still do. Come on, Stace, it's not like everything I say comes true. Still," Maggie hugged her best friend. Her only friend. "What if we DO get separated? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too." Tears formed in her crystal blue eyes. She would never let any of the girls see her cry, save for Stacy and Sister Maria, but only because Sister Maria would walk in and catch a tear running down her suntanned cheeks.

Stacy sighed and patted Maggie's back for comfort. "Just think positive. Remember what you'd say to baby Susie? If you believe in your dreams, anything can happen!" Stacy reassured Maggie. As if on cue, little Susie got out of bed and headed for the two girls by the window.

"Just because I'm only six and a half, doesn't make me a baby." Susie protested, standing behind Maggie. "Maggie, I can't sleep...can you tell me another bedtime story?"

"That's my cue," Stacy sighed, giving Maggie one last loving hug. "Everything will be okay, Mags...I promise." With that, Stacy left the bench and walked back to bed, falling asleep easily. Susie soon sat on the cushioned bench and laid down on her back, her head on Maggie's lap, her usual position.

"Tell me a Peter Pan story." Susie pleaded. "I like how he flies. Tell me how he flies again?"

Maggie let out a quiet, playful gasp. "You don't remember?" Susie shook her head, eyes widened with worry that she forgot. Maggie laughed softly. "It's alright. All you have to do, is think of a happy though. Mermaids, princesses..."

"Having a family?" Susie asked.

Maggie paused, and looked back up to the sky. "Yes. A family is a very happy thought. Now all you need is a happy thought, and pixie dust to fly. But Peter! He had his best friend, Tinkerbell...and he was never sad. He was always happy," she gazed down at Susie, whose eyes lit with wonder and curiosity, "Happy thoughts lift you up, that's why it's so easy for Peter to fly around all the time. When he wasn't with the Lost Boys--other boys who had no families and found their way to Neverland, he would spy on Captain Hook.

"You see, Captain Hook hated Peter Pan for cutting off his right hand and feeding it to the crocodile-"

"The one with the clock?"

"Yes, Susie. Ever since that day, the crocodile has followed Captain Hook, and Captain Hook has sworn to have his revenge on Peter Pan. One day, Peter Pan was floating high in the clouds, and was spying on Captain Hook's ship..."

* * *

"There he is! LOAD THE CANNONS!" Captain James Hook screamed at his crew, pointing to the sky with his right hook. Sure enough, behind a small cloud was Peter Pan, his dark eyes dazzling with delight as he flew downward to torment and torture the crazy minded Captain.

"Here I am, Captain Hook!" Peter laughed playfully, circling around The Jolly Rodger. Captain Hook followed his flying target with his gleaming hook, while the other men followed with the cannon. Just then, Peter got caught in one of the ship's nets! Panic striking him for the first time, he desperately tried reaching for his dagger in his belt loop with his fingertips. The crew realized they had a perfect shot of Peter Pan! The men were whooping with excitement and thought of how proud their Captain would be. Just as they got ready to light the fuse, Peter realized the dilemma.

He was an easy target when he wasn't flying....

* * *

**A/n: What can I say? I'm a cliffhanger fan! What do you think so far? :)**


	2. The Meeting

**Thank you everyone for your patience! I've been re-typing this story over and over, trying to find the right words and narration for this story, and I do believe I have found it...that, and I have a fulltime job and just got engaged, so things have been crazy busy yet AWESOME in life, so..thanks again for your patience! Enjoy Chapter 2!**

* * *

"THERE HE IS!" Captain Hook hollered crazily. "FIRE! FIRE!"

Tinkerbell, seeing her best human friend in danger, quickly flew around the crew members and did whatever she could to distract them. She would pull on their hair, jingle loudly in their ears, and do whatever else necessary to give Peter enough time to escape.

Thankfully, it worked. The crew were far too distracted with the glowing pixie and chimes to realize Peter had just grabbed his dagger and started cutting himself loose.

Captain Hook, however, noticed. "You blithering idiots! He's getting away! SMEE!" he hollered to his first mate, "FIRE THE CANNON ALREADY!"

Mr. Smee saluted his captain and lit the fuse proudly. Unfortunately, he did this without looking at his target; Peter Pan had just cut the last rope and flew off seconds before the cannon struck the mast.

Peter let out a hearty chuckle as he rolled around in the air, laughing at the mistake Smee made. "Thank you for the entertainment, Mr. Smee!" Peter said happily, flying quickly around the boat as Hook started yelling at Smee for making another foolish mistake. "Until next time, Codfish!" he hollered, seeing the Captain throw down his hat in fury.

Peter flew away, past Mermaid Lagoon and to the clouds by the Indian Tribe, far away form Captain Hook's watchful eyes. There, he rested on a cloud and pulled his hat over his face. He started thinking about how that net seemed to come out of nowhere. Besides that, how did he get stuck in it? Usually, he had better reflexes than that. But today...

His thoughts were interrupted by jingles of exhaustion. Peeking out from under the corner of his hat, he saw his saving grace, Tinkerbell, sitting next to his head, not looking at him.

"Tink, you were amazing today!" Peter said. Then, taking the hat off his face, he rolled on his stomach and gazed at the lands below. "Still, I don't remember seeing that net." Tink jingled. Peter nodded, "yeah, like magic! I wonder if-"

Before he could finish his thought, a giant puff of blue smoke appeared and revealed a large, blue genie.

"Whew! When they said Neverland was far, the King wasn't joking!" Genie stretched dramatically. "Pete, my man—uh, little flying boy I mean," he corrected himself as Peter was about to argue that he was not a man and had no intention of growing up, "The King wants you to appear at an emergency meeting."

Tinkerbell jingled a confused question, and Genie gave an equally confused look.

"Uh, sorry...still don't understand tiny pixie-girl's language."

"What Tink said was, 'What's the problem?'"

* * *

"It's a long story...come on, I'll explain on the way!" Genie promised. With that, the three flew off.

The next morning, the girls woke up and eagerly got ready for the big day. Everyone was excited about Adoption Day, and perhaps today would be the day that the girls would be adopted into a nice family.

Well, everyone was excited, save for Maggie. There was a giant knot forming in her stomach, and she barely ate breakfast. After Sister Maria told the girls to go play while she cleaned up, all the girls knew what that meant.

People would soon be coming to adopt. The girls fixed their hair, straightened out their uniformed dresses, made sure their white stockings and shiny shoes were perfect, and began playing dolls and tag, while others painted a pretty picture. Stacey had hurried outside right after breakfast, so Maggie decided to just stay inside and read her new book that she had gotten for her birthday from Sister Maria. It was titled Peter Pan and the Starcatchers, written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It was officially one of her favorite books, mainly because of Peter Pan, but any story that lifted up your imagination was the book most likely to be spotted in Maggie's hands.

"Check out the nerd," a voice sneered. Maggie looked up and saw Katie, one of the other orphan girls. She had long, blonde hair and green eyes that glared down at anyone who wasn't-well, in Katie's eyes, perfect. "You honestly think anyone will want to adopt you?"

Not saying a word, Maggie stood up from her hiding spot and walked up the stairs. No matter what, Maggie wouldn't let someone like Katie ruin her day. For the past four years of being an orphan, not one family had adopted her or even showed interest in Maggie. Katie knew that, and found any way to torment her about her "differences". Maggie wasn't athletic, not one of the bravest girls...but she had something that most of the girls didn't seem to have: imagination. Anytime something bad happened, Maggie had the ability to mentally escape the real world...with all its pain, suffering and tears...and enter a world that was hers to control and change. That's how she was able to escape one of the worst moments in her life...the day she became an orphan.

Opening the second door on the right, she entered the room where the girls slept. Walking past the neatly made beds that were covered in different sheets, Maggie sat on the cushioned couch near the large window, the same spot she sat in the night before, and immersed herself into the world that was written in her book. Little did she know the troubles that were brewing in another world...

* * *

Peter Pan, the Genie, and Tinkerbell arrived to Cinderella's Castle just as the meeting started. Peter flew into the room, and could easily recognize basically everyone in the room; Daisy and Donald were there, as well as Aladdin, Alice and that weird rabbit...and in the front with Cinderella herself was someone he knew very well.

Mickey Mouse.

"Thanks for joining here, everybody!" Mickey greeted. "I'm sure you all know the Blue Fairy.

The Blue Fairy nodded and glowed a brilliant blue, her dress sparkling like the stars in the night sky. "King Mickey has called upon all of you for a very important reason. The storyteller is getting stronger."

Gasps and murmurs flowed through the room.

"I'm confused," a girl spoke up. The audience turned to see Wendy. "I would tell stories to my brothers all the time, and nothing ever happened to Peter," she admitted.

Mickey shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Wendy"

"You see, storytellers here can tell stories without causing any effect on another world." she explained. "Seeing a storyteller in a vision means that he or she has the power to change anything and everything here in the many worlds of Disney. And this particular Storyteller is a young girl. She has been wishing on the evening star every night, it seems..."

Naveen rolled his eyes subtly, remembering the troubles magic and wishing gave _him_ at first.

"It's true!" Peter announced. "Why...Just today, I got caught in a net for the first time ever...and the net had never been there before!" Tinkerbell chimed in agreement. Peter nodded. "Right, and if in the wrong hands..."

"Like Shadowman, wrong hands?" a giant crocodile named Louie asked in worry.

Princess Tiana smiled a soft smile as she patted her crocodile friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Louie," she assured, "He's long gone. Not like he can come back. We took care of him ages ago, remember?"

"Wh-what if M-Malificent finds out?" a small, pink animal asked. "Oh, d-d-dear!"

"Let's hope it doesn't get to that point, Piglet." Fairy Godmother hoped aloud. "Who knows what troubles lie ahead?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the shadowy side of Disney, the villains were talking in Malificent's castle, dark as night itself, and covered in thorns. There, in the main hall, the villains met. The room was gloomy, save for the light from the large, green fireplace that reflected on their faces.

In the center of the room, Malificent stood, all eyes resting on her.

"My friends," she began, "I have been told from a good source that...there is a storyteller in the human world." Murmurs roamed through the hall. "Yes, it's true! Our long waiting is done! Once we have the storyteller in our grasp, we shall rule all of Disney!"

"You mean to tell us," Jafar questioned, "that a human storyteller exists? Well, there are many storytellers-"

"Do you know any who have the ability to change things _here_ in our world?" Malificent challenged. Jafar's eyes widened.

"Who is this, 'informant' you refer to?" the Snow Queen challenged, holding a fresh, non-poisonous apple in her hand. Just as she was about to take a bite, the apple left her hand and was hanging in mid-air!

The Snow Queen glared around the room, and all were just as amazed as she was. Turning around towards the wall, she was shocked to see another person's shadow holding the apple's shadow. As the mysterious shadow flew away, the apple followed until it landed in someone else's hand.

"That would be me," the Shadow Man confessed cooly, taking a bite out of what was now _his_ apple, "and thanks to Her Highness," he nodded towards Malificent, his shadow bowing to her freely, "I can ask my friends on the other side for assistance in finding your precious 'Storyteller'."

"Are you quite certain?" the Snow Queen asked. "I have heard what happened the last time you failed."

Shadow Man's shadow covered his ears and hid behind Shadowman. Shadow Man gave the Snow Queen a reassuring, yet cynical, smile. "Rest assured," he answered cooly, "when we have the Storyteller, _you_ will be the fairest of them all, and those goody-two-shoed characters won't know what will hit them!"

* * *

Hades grinned. "Now it's time for _our_ story to be told."  
Suddenly, a shrieking howl echoed in the room as a shadow demon, grinning from ear to ear, flew in towards the Shadow Man, who let out a small chuckle. "And I believe I know where she is."


	3. The Deal

**Wow! Another update! Hooray for being caught up...kind of! ;) **

**So I do not know if I did this, but * I do not own any of the Walt Disney Characters, they are owned and created by Walt Disney World Company... ***

**Read, Review, and Enjoy! **

* * *

The orphanage was bursting with excitement as the children were showing guests around, hoping to be adopted by what seemed to be a few visitors. Meanwhile, in the room of a dozen beds, Maggie was still sitting by the window, reading her book. She was reading about Peter Pan flying when she remembered her own story she had told Suzie the other night. Not only that, but she began to imagine more adventures for Peter...

Her mind filling up with ideas, Maggie rushed over to her secret compartment in the floor next to her bed, moved some candlesticks around and retrieved a navy blue book. Inside was her most treasured possession: all her stories. Grabbing a pencil, she continued to write the same story she had told last night as well as more adventures. The words flowed so easily onto the paper that they seemed to already come to life with her words as if it was magic.

"Quite the busy writer," a voice said in admiration. Startled, Maggie jumped our of her seat, causing the book to fall off her lap. Maggie's mind rushed from Neverland back to the real world as she stared at the two strangers in her room. The first person she saw was a man that wasn't too tall with jet black hair and hazel eyes, the other was a woman with short brown hair and brilliant green eyes, and both seemed to carry a satchel of some kind. The woman's looked heavier, but that was the last thing on Maggie's mind...she tried to say something, but her words, unlike the ones in her book, refused to come to life.

"Now look what you did," the woman sighed, looking at the man. "You scared her! There, there...it's alright," she said reassuringly. Maggie looked up at the woman who had such a kind smile, Maggie couldn't help but smile back. "What's your name?" the woman asked.

Maggie gulped. "Umm...Maggie."

The man raised an eyebrow as he picked up the blue book from the ground. "So," he said, flipping through the pages briefly, "What are you writing? Poetry?" he asked, handing the book back to the orphan girl.

Once the book was safely in her hands, Maggie traced her index finger around the cover of her book. "No, I like to write stories sometimes." She paused, flipped to a random page, and blurted out, "The world I write stories about seems to be a lot better than this one. At least my stories have happy endings." There was silence. Why did she blurt that out! She usually never talked to random people. Why did this random couple...out of everyone...make it so easy to talk? Before she realized it, Maggie added, "My parents liked telling stories too. The way they told stories, you'd feel like you were there...hearing the sounds, feeling the rush of adventure the characters would feel. I don't really remember some of the stories since the car accident." Maggie looked down to the floor, mentally kicking herself for opening up to these random people. She hadn't told anyone about the accident. Then again, why should the others know. It was a stormy night when it happened...Maggie was too young to remember most details. She just remembered seeing the other car's headlights heading toward them...

Half expecting the couple to be freaked out, Maggie looked back up and was surprised to them so...calm.

The woman looked at Maggie, her eyes filled with sympathy. "Well," she said, placing a hand on Maggie's shoulder, "maybe one day soon, when you are done with your story, you can share it with us. I'd love to hear it! Do you need pictures? I have a talent for drawing...do you draw?"

As the three continued bonding, none of them noticed they had a spy in the hallway. It was none other than Katie, whose eyes were green with envy. What did Maggie have that _she_ didn't?

"Looks like she found her ticket out of here," a voice said cooly behind her. Katie turned around and saw a man leaning against the wall, a smug look on his face as he took a final bite out of an apple.

Katie focused her glare back towards Maggie and her stupid blue book. "This is impossible. The nerd gets her happy ending after all..._I_ should be getting adopted, not _her_. I mean, look at her...her and that stupid story book."

A smile curled on the tall stranger's lips. "What, that silly blue book?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, it's where she writes all her stupid stories. Stuff about Disney, mostly." She didn't notice the twinkle in Shadowman's eye as she continued, "I snuck a peek at her book one night...she thinks her hidden compartment is secret. It's so obvious...Why hide something that isn't even worth hiding?"

The mysterious man put a hand on Katie's shoulder. His touch was cold as ice. Katie looked past him, and blinked a few times. Did his shadow just smile at her?

"With your help," the man explained, "I can make sure she doesn't get her happily ever after, and you get the family you deserve. Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his other hand for her to shake.

Katie glanced back at Maggie, and then at the blue book as ideas buzzed around her mind like angry bees. "Deal," she said finally, shaking hands to seal the deal. "I'm Katie."

The man grinned. "Friends call me The Shadow Man."

* * *

**More to Come Soon! :)**


	4. Snow, Shadows, and Frying Pans

**Thank you all for your patience with the next chapter! Again, please comment and rate :)**

* * *

Chapter 4

As Katie plotted with Shadowman, Maggie was showing the couple who still did not reveal their names her sketches and stories.

"These are incredible!" The woman said in awe as she went through each drawing with an 'ooh,' and 'ahh!'

"You have quite a gift for storytelling," the man commented, reading her most recent story about Peter Pan.

Maggie smiled. "They're alright, I guess. I mean, well..." she blushed. She could never speak her opinion before. It felt easier to write things down rather than speak her mind. Why was it so easy to talk to these people? Maggie never said this much when she first met Stacy, and she's her best friend. "I usually read them to Suzie-she's the youngest of the twelve of us-at night before she sleeps. I sometimes read them here, or in what I like to call the 'reading room'. There's a comfy chair there...sometimes I think it's made out of the clouds!" Maggie explained, then hesitated. "Would..." she bit her bottom lip, then finished, "would you like to see it?" Just then, an idea rushed into Maggie's mind. "Maybe on the way, I can introduce you to my best friend, Stacy!" If luck was on her side, maybe these nice folks would adopt the both of them together!

The woman smiled, "I'd love to! How about it, Eugene?" she asked the man, who seemed to blush at his name.

"Yeah I think I got some time," he said cooly, tossing the book onto Maggie's bed as the three of them headed into the empty hallway and down the stairs.

"Uhh...I'll meet you at the stairs," Maggie said looking back at her bed. Rushing back, she carefully hid the blue book in her secret compartment and carefully set it in as if it was made of glass. When she was certain everything was taken care of, she headed for the stairs to catch up with what she hoped to be her new parents.

Carefully entering the room a few minutes later was Katie, making sure she was quiet as a mouse as she headed towards the last bed with one thing on her mind...revenge. Maggie shouldn't get adopted. She's not normal. With that, Katie knelt down and felt around for the secret compartment.

"Can I help you?!" a voice asked sternly behind her. Katie, who's face was suddenly pale, turned to see Stacey, her dark blue eyes glaring down on her, as if she caught a stray dog going through garbage.

Quickly regaining composure, Katie gave a dry gulp and stood up. "Actually, yes. I need Maggie's book."

"I don't think so."

"Why do you defend her so much?!" Katie huffed, "What has she done for you?! Read you these crappy stories? Oooh, big deal! If you haven't seen, she's already being taken away by a family...she LEFT you! Some friend."

"No, she hasn't," Stacey said cooly, her confidence making Katie nervous. "She's not like you. She thinks of others before herself. She's probably looking for me right now. You see, she is kind...she's going to go places, and that scares you. You are SO jealous of her! Ever since Sister Mary gave her that book because she saw a GIFT in Maggie! Something that you don't have, nor will you EVER have."

Katie glanced behind Stacey and gave a small smile.

"Now I'm not going to ask again...step away from Maggie's bed." Stacey warned. Suddenly, the brave best friend became unusually uncomfortable as she felt something grab her. Looking around, she didn't see any hands on her...Looking at Katie with confusion in her eyes, Katie just pointed to the wall. Stacey, to her surprise, saw someone's shadow grabbing hers.

"I'm afraid we can't," a voice said cooly. Stacey's emotions changed from confusion to fear as she recognized that voice. It couldn't be...she turned to face the intruder. Her eyes widened.

"Shadowman-" was all she could utter before he blew purple dust in her face...

* * *

Maggie beamed as she saw Eugene and his friend admire the 'reading room'. Occupied with four large gray chairs, an old couch and blue walls, the 'reading room'-as Maggie called it- was her own little sanctuary.

"This place is so nice!" The woman said, plopping down on the couch.

Maggie's smile grew even more. Maybe this could be her new family. _Wait till they meet Stacey!_ Maggie thought excitedly. "I love being in here, and so does Stacey! Sometimes, even though it's summer, I like to think that I'll look outside the window one day and see-,"

"-Snow?" Euguene interrupted.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Maggie asked, looking towards Euguene, who was looking outside the large window…

And there was white stuff falling. Maggie looked in awe, her eyes widening. "It really IS snowing!"

The woman walked towards the window and examined the snowfall, and replied solomly, "I don't think that's snow."

Confused, Maggie looked again and noticed that these particular snowflakes looked different.

"Looks almost like…" Euguene was silent. His friend looked at Euguene with the same look of shock in her eyes and finished his sentence:

"Paper."

Maggie ran out of the room and up the stairs, hoping she was wrong when she thought the worst thing possible.

Someone had found her hiding spot by her bed. Turning the corner and opening the second door on the right, she froze when she saw Katie throwing the last shredded bits of her drawings out the window with the rest of them. Filled with anger, Maggie ran towards Katie, when suddenly she felt a hand grab her arm. When she looked to see who was holding her back, she didn't see anyone. She looked back at Katie who had a sinister smile on her face. The stranger behind her chuckled. Before Maggie realized it, she was lifted in the air! Maggie was terrified of heights, and just being up five feet scared her.

"My, my!" a voice exclaimed. "What fire in you!" Emerging from the shadows was someone Maggie thought looked familiar.

"Shadowman?" she called aloud. She looked to the wall and sure enough, their shadows were on the wall, his grabbing onto hers. He tipped his hat and bowed to the floating girl.

"Yes, yes…the one and only. Love to stay and chat," Shadowman said, waving his cane underneath Maggie's feet. "However, we now have what we came for, so-"

"Maggie!" a voice cried. She turned her head to see Eugene and his friend at the door. The woman reached into her satchel and grabbed...a frying pan?

"Ah, Rapunzel...you got your hair done." Shadowman said, as if nothing was wrong.

"Let her go!" the woman cried, getting ready to throw her frying pan.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Shadowman said slyly. With a snap of his fingers, the villain's shadow dropped Maggie and floated over to its owner, giving a malicious cackle. Maggie, Rapunzel, and Eugene followed his stare and saw Stacey behind them, with her blue book in hand.

Maggie smiled. "Stacey! You got my book! Thank you!"

Stacey said nothing. She didn't even blink as she walked past her best friend and right to what seemed like her new friends on the other side of the room. Shadowman reached out his hand and took the book from the silent girl. Maggie's smile disappeared. Her heart felt like it was breaking, and her mind was asking questions that she just couldn't answer. _This is like something out of a nightmare,_ she thought to herself as Shadowman was now in possession of her book.

"You fools! There's nothing you can do now...With this book, everything is going to be different!" With that, he threw something on the ground, causing a purple cloud to cover Shadowman, Stacey and Katie. In an instant, they vanished.

"Are you okay?" Eugene asked, helping the orphan girl up to her feet. Maggie wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. Her best friend and her special storybook were gone. Her drawings were destroyed. The world that she escaped to, through her drawings and stories, seemed to disappear. Tears rolled down her face as she quietly cried. Eugene felt sorry for the girl. He patted her shoulders awkwardly, wishing there was more he could do.

"Uh … Eugene?" Rapunzel started to say with worry in her voice. He turned around to see Rapunzel looking at her hands quickly disappearing. Eugene's eyes widened.

"Maggie," Eugene said to the scared orphan, "we need your help."

"Eugene!" Rapunzel shrieked, her arms and legs starting to fade as well.

"Wait…Rapunzel? Eugene?" Maggie thought out loud. "You're characters in a Disney movie … how can you—"

"I know it's confusing," Eugene interrupted, watching his own hand disappear, "but you need to save us. All our worlds-the movies and books your world has—they're all connected." Maggie's eyes widened. "And right now," he continued, "they're in trouble. With the bad guys having your book, they can change everything. Ruin every dream. Crush anything good in their path." He looked behind him for Rapunzel, but she was gone. He looked down at himself, his chest slowly vanishing.

"I don't have time. Find the door … It'll take you to our world. Hurry, before—"

Suddenly, Eugene was gone, leaving Maggie alone in the room with twelve beds.

Maggie didn't know what to think. So much had happened. Did Disney characters really just arrive? She thought they only existed in stories…and why did they want her book? More importantly, what did they want with Stacey?


	5. The Enchanted Doorknob

***I own nothing of Disney, I just have an awesome imagination.***

* * *

Chapter 5

Maggie thought back to Stacey, and her betrayal. Maggie had looked into her best friend's eyes. She saw nothing, no remorse, no recognition. It was as if Stacey wasn't herself. Shadowman must have put her under a spell … and now she was with the villains. Who knows what they would do to Stacey? Maggie had to save her best friend.

"But how?" Maggie wondered aloud. Suddenly, she remembered what Flynn Rider had said before he disappeared: "_Find the door._" Determined, she got up from the floor and walked out of the empty bedroom.

Something didn't feel right, though.

There was no noise. There was no laughter or sounds of running footsteps downstairs from the other orphan girls. Maggie looked everywhere: the kitchen, the living room, even the bathroom… the building was completely empty, except for her.

"Did the villains take _everyone?!_" Maggie thought aloud. "'Find the door' … how hard can it be?"

Apparently, it was harder than she thought. Maggie opened up every door: the front door, back door, bathroom door, even the** REFRIDGERATOR** door, but to no avail.

"Of course it wouldn't be easy," she concluded. "If I were going to have a magic door," she imagined, biting her bottom lip like she always did when trying to come up with a creative idea, "It would be a perfect white door—No! Brown! Like a closet door—no, a cupboard door, so it would blend in… That way, no one would know it was magical… But I would." She walked around the corner into the dining room. "It would be small, something that you'd have to crawl through, and the doorknob would have to be enchanted for the door to be magical—"

"Well, now! Aren't we creative?" a voice complimented. Maggie looked around for a person, only to realize no one else was there. "Down here!" the voice called. Sure enough, as Maggie looked down, she saw the cupboard where Sister Marie usually kept large fruit bowls and plates. She had to blink a few times when she saw that the gold doorknob had eyes and a mouth! "You certainly have a way with words! I wouldn't call myself 'enchanting', though…more like…shiny, or—"

"You-you talked to me!" Maggie cried in disbelief.

"Well, how else would you know I was an enchanted doorknob if I couldn't _tell_ you, silly?" the golden knob countered.

Maggie bit her bottom lip again. "That's true. So, you can get me to where Flynn told me to go?" she asked.

"Of course!"

Maggie beamed. "Oh, wonderful!"

"All you need is the key."

Maggie's eyes widened. "A…a key?"

"Of course!" the doorknob chuckled. "How else do you plan on opening me?"

Maggie frowned. _No one said this would be easy,_ she thought. Biting her lower lip again, she tried looking for the key. "What does it look like?" she asked.

"Well, what do you _think_ a key looks like?" the doorknob challenged.

"Well," she pondered, "if I were to make a key for you…it wouldn't be as shiny as you are…Maybe a little tarnished, and long! Not like a car key, but one of those old fashioned keys that could unlock a treasure chest, or something like that."

"You mean that one over there?" the doorknob asked, motioning up to the table with his knob. Sure enough, there was the exact key Maggie was talking about.

"Man, was that there the whole time? I need to get my eyesight checked," the young girl said aloud, grabbing the key and examining it. "It looks like one of those Skeleton Keys. I should keep this just in case." With that, Maggie used it to open the cupboard door.

"Ah! That tickles!" the doorknob giggled as the latch unlocked. "Now be careful in there," it warned. "Not everyone you see can be as friendly and _open_ as I am." With that, the door swung open, revealing a dark tunnel.

Maggie cringed at the sight as she tucked the skeleton key into her pocket. She hated the dark more than anything. Getting up, she quickly looked around for a flashlight but found none. Suddenly remembering what she had, she ran up the stairs, opened her secret compartment, and grabbed her candlestick and the fresh box of matches she swiped earlier this morning.

Racing back down the stairs and to the open cupboard, she lit the candlestick, silently hoped nothing bad would be inside, and began to crawl.

Maggie had never seen anything like it before. She had no idea where the tunnel led, or how it got there, and, quite honestly, she didn't care at the moment. All she knew was her friend needed her…

And apparently, so did all of Disney World.

* * *

**Please Read&Review!**


	6. The Broken Smoulder

_**Thank you for your reviews so far! It really means a lot to me, and it motivates me to continue writing... I have to confess the next few days I will be busy with wedding planning...that's right! I'm getting hitched in a year! YAYY! :D Rather excited for that... but until then, please read, review, and leave comments on how amazing this story is...**_

_***hugs* Jessi**_

_**ps- I do not own any Disney characters, songs, forests, or tall towers/buildings/castles from Disney...I just (as they say in fantasmic) use my imagination!  
**_

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_**Chapter 6 – The Broken Smolder.**_

After crawling on her hands and knees for what felt like ages, the tunnel revealed a small wooden door. It was circular, and had an odd drawing of a duck on it. Maggie raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off as she used the skeleton key she kept to unlock the door.

"What, no enchanted doorknob for _you_?" she joked as she grasped onto the silent doorknob and turned it to the right. As soon as she opened the door, she was instantly greeted by a blinding light.

Once her eyes adjusted, she saw that she was in the middle of the woods. Trees were everywhere, and the grass was the deepest shade of green Maggie had ever seen. She stepped out of what she realized was a tree, and took a deep breath in. The smell of pine was amazing to her. It was much different from the Pine Sol scent that Sister Marie would use when cleaning all the time.

The young orphan wandered through the woods, hoping to find a clearing soon. She stopped as she noticed a piece of paper on one of the trees. Maggie ripped the paper off of the tree to have a closer look. The man looked familiar, but the nose was wrong. Sure enough, when Maggie covered the pig-looking nose with her fingers, she recognized him instantly. "Eugene?" she said out loud. "But why does your name say Flynn Rider?" After a pause, Maggie smacked her head with an open palm. "Of course…Tangled," She muttered, remembering the movie.

"Look out!" a voice hollered behind her. Before Maggie could turn around, someone collided into her, causing her to tumble to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She looked up and saw none other than Flynn Rider on top of her, his hazel eyes gazing at her with curiosity and a hint of familiarization. "I think you broke my smolder," he grumbled, standing up.

"Flynn! You're alright!" Maggie exclaimed.

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "You look familiar, have I robbed from you before or something?" Maggie frowned and stood up as well.

"You don't remember? Well, where's Rapunzel? I'm sure she'll remember…" Maggie saw the same look of confusion was still on Flynn's face. "Rapunzel…you don't—you were in my room! You disappeared! You went all, '_fzzzz_', and I was floating, 'cause Shadowman's shadow had _my_ shadow, and…"

"Woah, woah kid…" Flynn said, holding his hands up, "First things first. One-I am not dissolvable. Two," he continued, "I do not associate myself with children. They can be rather annoying and irresponsible…" Maggie rolled her eyes on that comment. "Third-," before he could finish, Maggie and Flynn both heard something coming behind them. They turned around to see guards on horseback headed their way.

"Run!" Flynn panicked, grabbing Maggie's hand and running deeper into the woods. He soon let go of the child's hand, and she followed closely behind, careful not to fall or lose her footing. She would hate to be forced to explain how she got here through an enchanted door in a tree.

"Keep up, kid!" Flynn yelled. Maggie rolled her eyes and was about to say something, until she noticed a familiar area that had hanging moss.

"Flynn! Let's go this way!" Maggie suggested, making a sharp right towards the moss and entering through, Flynn close behind. They hid alongside the stone wall and waited for the shadows of the guards to pass. When the coast was clear, Maggie grabbed Flynn by the hand and brought him to a beautiful field with flowers, a beautiful waterfall, and a tall tower that had one window at the very top.

"Talk about wanting privacy." Flynn said, looking around. He looked up towards the tower and had to blink a few times. Did he just see a girl up there?

"Come on," Maggie said, motioning to the tower, "we gotta climb up to see Rapunzel." When there was no response, Maggie turned around to see Flynn walking away. "Wha—hey! Where are you going?!" Maggie asked, running after Flynn. "We have to climb up the tower! It's the only way to-,"

"Look kid," Flynn turned toward the orphan and patted her on the head like a dog, "you seem real nice—although freakishly dressed," he motioned to the plaid, "so just run along back home, and—"

Maggie crossed her arms. "What's wrong? It's not like you're afraid of heights," the orphan girl joked. Her smile faded when she did not hear a retort coming from the adventurous gentleman. "Oh my…You're…? But you can't be! You've climbed it before!"

"No, I haven't!" Flynn answered, sounding rather annoyed. "I've never seen this place in my entire life! Believe me, I would've remembered an isolated tower in a hidden valley covered by moss!" he finished, motioning to the entrance. "Now, kid-"

"MAGGIE!" she yelled.

"Whatever. Just run back to your family. I'm sure mommy dearest is worried sick about—" He stopped when he saw the reaction on her face.

"I'm an orphan." She looked up at Flynn, who looked surprised and guilty at the same time. "You…really don't remember, do you?"

Flynn shrugged.

"You and Rapun—someone else," she started, "came to me for help…someone stole something very valuable to me—" she didn't notice Flynn's eyes light up as she said that, "and I need it back. You told me to try and remind you of everything before it was too late…and you would try and help me find—"

"Yes! Very valuable, can't live without it…uhh-yeah, sure I remember." Flynn said, combing his fingers through his hair.

Maggie's eyes lit up, "You do?" Flynn blinked a few times and nodded silently. "Oh my gosh, that's great!" she exclaimed. "So you can climb up and—"

"No!" Flynn said, his voice going a little higher than normal. He cleared his throat and continued. "Uhh…no. The ummm, valuable thing isn't here. Nope, not here. We gotta go elsewhere for it. Yup, I remember now. So… let's go," he suggested, grabbing the girl's arm and dragging her away from the tower. Neither of them noticed that, from the high window in the tall tower, a woman was watching them.

"You, see, Rapunzel?" Madame Gothel boasted, "Ruffians! Thieves! Trying to take your hair, you saw the girl wanting to climb up!" She looked behind her at the sad young girl, playing with some of her extremely long golden hair, looking down to her feet. "Can't you understand I'm just trying to protect you?" she cooed, placing her hand gently on the girl's head. "You must never leave this tower, Rapunzel," she ordered, "It's just not safe. Do you understand, Flower?"

The young girl sighed in defeat. "Yes, mother." As Madame Gothel left the room, Rapunzel walked solemnly to the window, and gazed outside. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining; the birds seemed to be singing a song of freedom as they flew around without a care in the world. She looked towards where the man and young girl stood; the ones she saw before her mother pulled her away. There was something about them that seemed…

Familiar.


	7. What Are Brothers For?

_**Hello, Readers! Thank you so much for your patience as I continue writing. This type of story is out of my comfort zone, I'll confess. But the idea sounded really great in my head, and I truly appreciate everyone reading and reviewing the story for me! Please continue leaving comments, that is what helps me to keep writing!**_

_**Legal mumbo jumbo time: I do not own anything that is part of Walt Disney World, just my OC characters.**_

* * *

Chapter 7 – What are Brothers for?

As the two continued walking through the woods, Flynn was babbling about the other worlds of Disney being connected, and the treasures he "collected" from each one. Maggie, however, was silent. Soon enough the thief became silent as well. Why didn't Flynn remember her? Even though everything happened so quickly, Maggie will never forget it. She thought back to the orphanage. Shadowman took her book and her best friend. She had never felt more scared and alone.

_"__**With this book, everything is going to be different**__!" _Shadowman's cold voice echoed in her mind, sending chills through her body.

_"Let's see…" _Maggie thought to herself. _"As soon as Shadowman had the book, he disappeared. Rapunzel and Flynn disappeared, too. Could it have something to do with the book being gone?" _

Meanwhile, Flynn couldn't keep the thought of a valuable, priceless artifact out of his mind. _"I wonder how big it is," _the thief thought to himself. He glanced down at his hands and made them into fists, his eyes widening with excitement. _"I'll bet it's the size of both fists combined! I'll be so rich!" _He glanced over towards the orphan girl, who was fiddling with her fingers…why did she look so familiar? She looked at him with a sweet smile, her big blue eyes locking onto his. Flynn looked away quickly. _"No!" _he scolded himself, _"This is no time to play nice. You have a job to do. Find the valuable treasure, steal it, and leave." _Out of the corner of his eye, Flynn observed the girl again. He tried being sociable, but she didn't say a word. She didn't even look like she was from here. He had seen many brunettes in his life, but none that dressed like she did. What world was she from?

"So," Flynn finally said, after clearing his throat a few times, "When you said I 'disappeared'…" he put air quotes around the last word. "What did you mean exactly?" Maggie didn't answer. Flynn cleared his throat again after the awkward pause. "So, where do you…?"

"Where do I live?" Maggie asked. Flynn could only nod. Maggie stopped walking and leaned against a tree. "I guess I should tell you. I'm—I'm not from here."

Flynn pointed at her outfit. "No kidding."

"No, I'm serious! I'm…I'm from another world."

Flynn blinked a few times. There was silence. "Okay, by 'another world'…are we talking about the ones here?"

The orphan bit her lip, and then shook her head. "Come on, let's keep walking."

"_What is she hiding?" _Flynn wondered. Determined to know, he stepped in front of her. "Oh no, kiddo," Flynn objected. "You're hiding something. Believe me, I'm a thief. I know how to hide things."

"I know." Maggie said confidently.

This threw Flynn off completely. "You…know?"

Maggie sighed. "You know how you said all your worlds are connected, right?" It was the thief's turn to nod. "Well, the worlds here are kind of connected to my world. You're…" she hesitated, a look of worry in her eyes. "There are movies based on your worlds. I know more about you than you think."

Flynn scoffed. "Okay…then you won't object to a test, then!" Maggie shrugged. Flynn thought of a question he was sure no one would ever get right. He never told this to anyone. If she got this right, then he could believe her. "What," he started dramatically, "is my name?"

Maggie smirked. "Which one are you referring to? Flynn Rider, or Eugene Fitzhurbert?"

The thief's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. She knew his name! "But…how…you…"

"Hey, look!" Maggie said pointing in the distance, "a town! Let's go check it out," she suggested, walking away from the stunned thief.

Flynn's eyes followed her as she walked away. This orphan just got more interesting.

* * *

Maggie couldn't help but feel that she had seen this town before, but she just couldn't put her finger on which Disney movie this came from.

"Huh," Flynn finally said, looking around as well, "quiet village here."

"…Quiet village? Oh my gosh, that's it!" Maggie exclaimed, a familiar song playing in her mind. "This is the world of Beauty and the Beast!"

"Yeah, I could've told ya that one," Flynn replied, grabbing an apple from a cart when no one was looking. "I love it when the girls speak French."

Before Maggie could reply, she felt like someone was staring at her. She turned around and noticed it wasn't just someone…

It seemed as if the entire _village_ was staring at her. Maggie glanced down at her clothes. She was still in her uniform from the orphanage.

Flynn rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. "We need to get you new clothes," he concluded, grabbing the orphan girl's hand and dragging her to what appeared to be a clothing shop. "Now don't say a word…follow my lead," the thief ordered. With that, he opened the door.

"Bonjour? Anyone home?" Flynn called. "Oh, Sophia?" Soon after he did so, a girlish shriek was heard somewhere in the back of the shop. Appearing around the corner was a woman with braided blonde hair and wearing a beautiful green dress

"Flynn, my love! You've returned!" Sophia shrieked in a French accent, wrapping her arms around Flynn Rider and bombarding his face with kisses. Maggie looked at the sight and raised an eyebrow. The woman looked like one of the girls always swooning over Gaston. As if her presence was known, Sophia stopped kissing Flynn and glared at the little girl. "Who is _ziiis_?" Sophia asked bluntly, a thick accent making it hard for Maggie to interpret that the last word was "this".

"_Ziis_—erm, _this_-is…umm, wait don't tell me—" Flynn hesitated, snapping his fingers.

"Maggie, ma'am," the orphan answered as innocently as she could, giving a small curtsy, a plan forming in her mind. If anything, she would act as cute as possible. Adults love the "little girl" routine. "It's lovely to meet you."

Her plan was working. Sophia's eyes widened and she gave a smile. "Aren't you tres adorable!" she said, curtsying back to the young girl. "'Flynn, 'ow do you know _ziiis_ little girl?" she asked.

Flynn looked between the young girl and the obsessed French woman. "Erm, well…She's …she's my sister! That's it." Flynn said confidently, awkwardly patting Maggie's head like a dog. "I know I didn't tell you… but I—uh…wanted it to be…a surprise! So…surprise…?" Flynn smiled sheepishly. He looked down at Maggie, and she could see the silent message: Play along.

"I—I am going to a ball," she lied, "and my…_**brother**_ was helping me…he said he knew the beautiful woman who worked here," Sophia winked at Flynn, who had his eyebrows raised, "and he said that maybe…" she bit her bottom lip, "maybe you could help? I don't want to dress like this for the ball," Maggie confessed, looking down at her plaid skirt. "Everyone would laugh at me…but I bet if I had one of your beautiful dresses…they would love it!"

Sophia embraced the girl into a loving hug, and said something in French that Maggie didn't understand. "Oh…of course I will help! You do not worry…any dress you want is free!"

Maggie smiled and curtsied to dressmaker. Once Sophia went back to Flynn, Maggie wandered around the store. There were so many dresses; Poofy dresses, slim dresses, sun dresses… it was hard for her to decide. Pink dresses, Purple and green; the colors were so vibrant and beautiful. Maggie stopped at a simple-yet beautiful- light yellow dress. Taking it off the rack, she held it against herself and admired the reflection. The dress went down just past her knees, and it had ribbon tied on the left hand side. Going in the fitting room, she tried it on. The dress didn't have sleeves, but it covered the top of her shoulders just right. She emerged out of the fitting room, and looked in the mirror. Maggie smiled. It looked like the dress was made just for her. Her light brown hair seemed to accent the color even more. Excited, she decided to walk outside through the town. Everyone was bustling through, making food orders and greeting each other.

"Bonjour, madame!" the baker greeted her.

"Bonjour!" Maggie exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. The baker let out a hearty chuckle.

"I haven't seen a smile like that in a long time. Where are you off to?" he asked.

"Well, I was just wandering around. Is there a bookshop nearby?" Maggie knew there was, from the movie. She just wanted to see for herself the same bookstore Belle would go into.

The town suddenly filled with silence. Nearby townsfolk stared at Maggie in fear.

"Um…we have no bookshop, little girl. Books are forbidden to have here in town," the baker whispered.

Maggie's heart dropped. Books…forbidden? How was Belle going to teach Beast to read? How will she able to sing her song and mosey through town while reading?

Shock taking over Maggie's attempt to speak, she started to walk away when she bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going," a woman snapped. Maggie looked at the woman and raised an eyebrow.

"Belle?"

It _looked_ like Belle; brown hair in a ponytail, blue and white dress…but something was different. Her eyes, instead of being a nice chocolate brown color, were gray and empty.

"Why are you staring at me?" Belle asked.

"You…no, this can't be…" Maggie whispered, turning away from Belle, "this isn't how the story goes…"

"Story?" Belle spoke the word softly, as if even saying the word was illegal. Belle whirled Maggie around so she could face her again. "Like a **book**?!"

Maggie studied the expression on Belle's face. "Yes…like a—"

"Oh, Belle…" a low and manly voice sung. Maggie turned around to see Gaston. His jet black hair slicked back in a ponytail, his muscles showing through his shirt, and his expression was as smug as ever. Why didn't _he _change?

"Hello, my love," Belle said with a warm smile.

Maggie's eyes couldn't get any wider. "'My love'?!" she repeated.

Belle smiled and looked at Gaston. "Yes… we're engaged."


	8. All Adventures Have a Deadline

**Thank you for your reviews...I truly appreciate it! Everyone loves a little self-esteem boost now and again ;) I love writing, and the fact that people are leaving reviews and asking for more really means a lot!**

**Enjoy Chapter Eight**

**LEGAL STUFF:: I do not own anything from Disney. (I wish I did! lol)**

**R&R!**

* * *

"En…Engaged?"

The word made Maggie's throat dry. She looked at the couple. Belle's gray eyes staring at Gaston so lovingly …

_"Her eyes…"_ Maggie thought. _"Why are they gray?"_

"Maggie, there you are," Flynn's voice called from behind. "I've been looking for you everywh-" he stopped mid sentence when he noticed Gaston glaring at him. "Gaston."

"Flynn," Gaston greeted back coldly. "Come, Belle. Let's take a look at my trophies. I know you love that."

"Yes, my love," Belle said softly, holding his hand and walking away. Belle looked back toward Maggie with a look of curiosity, and nodded to her.

"Pfft, I don't know what girls see in him," Flynn commented.

"Something's not right," Maggie whispered. Without letting Flynn answer, she ran off and followed Gaston and Belle. As they walked into his tavern, a piece of paper fell out of Gaston's pocket and, without noticing, they continued inside. Maggie picked up the piece of paper and opened it. The writing was a bit messy, but it was still readable:

**Once Upon a time there lived a handsome, brave, strong, and attractive man named Gaston. He was loved by everyone, but most importantly, his fiancée Belle. She adored him more than anything…even more than her books! In fact, Books were BANNED from the village. No one knew of the Beast's Castle or realized there was something enchanted in the forest. Belle's fool of a father remained the laughingstock of the entire village and continued his pathetic inventions, but Belle was not there to help…because she was with me-erm, I mean- Gaston.**

Flynn finally caught up as Maggie was reading the paper. "Hmm," he observed, "nice handwriting."

Maggie stared long and hard at the paper, her mind pulling at what Shadowman said.

"'Everything's gonna be different'," she quoted. Just then, the realization struck her like bricks. The page is from her blue book! "They've already changed everything. That's why you don't remember me…that's why you're afraid of heights and why Belle is with Gaston…" Maggie's voice trailed off.

Flynn stared at the girl. Finally, after a short pause, he began to laugh. "Oh, this is good. You had me going there for a minute, kid!" Flynn chuckled, patting Maggie on the head. "Who put you up to this? Was it the Stabbington brothers? Come on, you can tell me."

Maggie stared in disbelief. "Wha-"

"Now, your story was *almost* perfect," Flynn critiqued, "The whole, 'coming from another world' thing had me going, since—well, you know about the other Disney worlds...you had me believing your little story until you goofed up right here with this paper," Flynn snatched the parchment from Maggie's hands. "The penmanship is sloppy. I personally would have added some misspellings here and there…but all in all, you had me going!"

"I'm not making this up!" Maggie stomped her foot in frustration.

"The girl is right," a voice said behind them. The two turned and saw a man Maggie recognized almost instantly.

"Maurice?" she whispered. He looked like he had seen better days. Still having his white hair and mustache, he looked tired and something in his blue eyes seemed missing from his life. "Follow me," he said as he walked into the forest, "we cannot talk here." Maggie glanced at Flynn, who also had a look of uncertainty and curiosity on his face. The two followed in silence.

"My darling Belle… my sweet, sweet Belle…" he muttered sadly.

"Maurice, can you tell us what happened?" Maggie asked softly. "We're here to help."

Maurice sat down on a large rock. "I know you are. I've been expecting you. We all have."

Flynn stayed silent. _"A little extreme with the prank, but let's just see where this leads,"_ he thought.

Maggie looked surprised. "You—you do? You have?"

Maurice nodded. "All of us…all the worlds…have been waiting for the Storyteller to fix everything." He looked at Maggie with a twinkle in his eye.

The orphan girl hesitated. "I'm sorry…Storyteller? You mean me?"

Maurice nodded again. "It's been written that in worlds far away from here lives the Storyteller; the one who—"

"Tells stories?" Flynn guessed sarcastically.

"—Not just stories, young man," Maurice corrected, "_**our**_ stories; Stories from your world and mine. The Storyteller has the power to change our fate, if he or she so wishes."

Maggie blinked and shook her head "But…all my stories were in…" Maggie looked at the paper Flynn was still holding onto and hesitated before finishing her sentence, "my book. The one Shadowman took along with Stacey!"

Maurice frowned. "Gaston wrote his story on that paper," he pointed to the same parchment, "and everything changed! Without the bookstore, Belle wouldn't enjoy reading. I'm sure you could see something was different about her!" he said to Maggie, "No one will believe me. They think I'm just 'Crazy Ol' Maurice'."

Maggie nodded her head. "Her eyes," she remembered. "They were gray when I just saw her."

"You've got to make things back to the way it was!" Maurice pleaded.

Maggie frowned as she began to think back to when Sister Marie gave her the book as a present….

* * *

_"Happy Birthday, Maggie," Sister Marie said to the seven-year-old orphan. Maggie was very excited to receive a present, and ripped open the packaging without difficulty. In her hands was a beautiful blue book with gold trimming on the spine._

_ "A book! Thank you, Sister!" Maggie exclaimed. Her eyes went from excited to confusion as she opened the book to reveal blank pages. "It's blank."_

_ Sister Marie smiled. "I know. It's so you can write your very own stories. I see you outside imagining you're in another world…you have such an incredible gift! Why not put it down in this book so you can revisit your stories as many times as you want?"_

_ Maggie smiled back and hugged Sister Marie. "I will! I'll fill this book from cover to cover!"_

* * *

Maggie frowned. She wanted to help, but what good was she alone? Everything she wrote was in her blue book. "I can't do it without my book," she stated sadly. "That's where all the magic came from…not me."

Belle's father frowned in disappointment. Suddenly, his eyes lit back up again. "What if I told you that there might be a way to get another enchanted book?"

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me that a _book_ is that valuable treasure you've been looking for."

"Yes! Where would we find this other book?" Maggie asked, purposely avoiding Flynn's question. Maurice pointed towards the woods.

"Go through the woods. At the end of the woods, there is a castle. It's dangerous, but there is a lot of enchantment that flows through there."

"Seriously, though…a book?!" Flynn complained. "I thought the priceless and valuable treasure was…well, treasure! GOLD…DIAMONDS… what am I going to do with a book?! You can't spend a book."

"Well," Maurice rubbed his chin as he secretly winked at Maggie, "I'm sure whoever helps change everything back to normal gets a handsome reward; His own weight in gold, most likely."

Flynn thought about this…that could buy him a lot of things. _"New plan," _he thought, _"Get the book, sell it to the highest bidder, and live happily ever after. OR…I could get the book, give it to whomever it is that's looking for it, and still get my reward. Either way," _he looked at the orphan, _"I'll be helping her. It will be my good deed for the next year or two."_

"Now do you believe me?" Maggie asked.

Flynn looked at the orphan and nodded. "Which way to the castle, again?"

Maurice pointed towards the woods again. "You need to hurry," he warned. "In three days time, there will be an orange full moon. Once that orange moon is up," Maurice hesitated, "everything will remain as is. You won't be able to change anything. But worse of all, you can't go home."

Maggie's eyes widened. "Stacey," she whispered to herself. Her best friend was in trouble, the villains were changing everything, and Maggie only had three days to find an enchanted book to make things the way it was.

Flynn looked at the orphan girl, and had sympathy for her. She had a lot on her plate, and he could tell she was scared. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Good thing you're not alone, kid. Let's go get that book."


End file.
